Bruins working on fitting newly-acquired pieces into the lineup

Mike Loftus The Patriot Ledger

Friday

Mar 2, 2018 at 7:40 PMMar 2, 2018 at 7:40 PM

As the Bruins work to fit four recently-acquired players into their lineup while simultaneously filling all the roles held by injured No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron, they’re bound to come up with some interesting and varied combinations.

BOSTON – Something old. Something new. Sometimes both.

As the Bruins work to fit four recently-acquired players into their lineup while simultaneously filling all the roles held by injured No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron, they’re bound to come up with some interesting and varied combinations. In Thursday night’s 8-4 win over the Penguins, one new wrinkle was the 101 line of left winger Tommy Wingels (29 years old), center David Backes (33) and right winger Brian Gionta (39).

Combined age: 101 years.

Combined NHL games: 2,285.

Combined games as a line: 1.

For Backes, it meant a second straight game of increased responsibility and visibility. In Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Hurricanes – the Bruins’ first after learning Bergeron would miss a minimum of two weeks with a fractured foot – Backes moved from right wing to center, between rookie Danton Heinen and Wingels, who played for the first time since the B’s acquired him from the Blackhawks at the NHL trade deadline last Monday. On Thursday, Wingels moved to left wing to replace Heinen (healthy scratch), and Gionta, who took this NHL season off to prepare to play for Team USA in the Olympics, made his debut as a Bruin at right wing.

“Yeah, add that variable into it,” Backes said of playing between wingers who weren’t even on the roster a week ago. “But they’re two guys who work their butts off, are smart hockey players, win their battles. We all kind of have that blue-collar mentality, that we’re going to win each and every puck, get pucks behind defensemen, and make them come 200 feet.”

That’s how Backes, who missed a total of 17 games through the end of November because of issues that ultimately resulted in surgery to remove a portion of his colon, plays, anyway. He did so mostly as a center over 10 years with the Blues, but far more as a wing in his two seasons with the Bruins.

“It’s huge,” Backes said of the adjustment needed to move back to center, “especially in a new system. A little more thinking going on, a little more hockey sense being used, rather than just brute force up the wall, winning puck battles, things like that.

“Faceoffs, timing – all those things are starting to come back.”

Backes and his linemates made an excellent debut against the Penguins. Backes took more faceoffs than any Bruin (21) and won 12, for a 57 percent success rate. (Wingels also stepped into the circle and went 4-for-5.) Backes also scored an important goal (11th in 45 games this season), putting the B’s up 4-2 at 12:49 of the first period, answering a goal Phil Kessel scored for the Pens 3:22 earlier. Gionta picked up the first of that night’s two assists on the play.

“The energy that’s on the line, the ability to be hard to play against, and to be responsible defensively, is a good combination,” Backes said.

Whether the line will be intact when the B’s host the Canadiens on Saturday (5:05 p.m., NESN, WBZ-FM 98.5) is uncertain, as Cassidy said Heinen will probably get back into the lineup. Backes would welcome more time on the 101 line, though.

“We’re taking that distinction with pride,” he said, “and using all our knowledge we have over the years to have success out there.”

AROUND THE BOARDS: Bruce Cassidy gave four players – center Riley Nash, winger Noel Acciari and defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk – maintenance days on Friday, with only Grzelcyk (lower body) dealing with anything close to an actual injury. “We’ve got five or six guys playing through just some minor things,” Cassidy said. “None of these injuries would preclude any of these guys from playing.” Cassidy did say, however, he’d probably stick with the six defensemen who played against the Penguins, meaning Grzelcyk and veteran Adam McQuaid would sit out.

Mike Loftus writes for the Patriot Ledger of GateHouse Media.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.